Image courtesy of ©thechattygardener.com
Mandy (@thechattygardener) wanted to be a journalist from the age of seven, but had no idea that her ambition would blossom into a career in garden writing and photography. Ten years after launching her inspirational blog, this award-winning journalist still spends as much time as possible outdoors.
Whether she’s planting show gardens, writing about horticulture, photographing plants, or encouraging wildlife into her own outside space, Mandy loves being outside. Discover how she plans to change her garden in the coming year…
How did you get into gardening?
Images courtesy of ©thechattygardener.com
I’ve gardened since childhood and always had my own patch in my parents’ gardens. One of the first things I remember planting was a Mesembryanthemum, with my mother. My other longterm passion was writing, so I feel very fortunate to have been able to combine the two. My career began in news journalism, but later moved into garden writing and photography where I was able to combine my love of writing and plants.
What inspires you in the garden?
As part of my job, I meet so many inspiring gardeners and gardens including people who create beautiful spaces on difficult sites or who garden despite life’s challenges. In my own garden, the sight of pollinators on my flowers or the first sign of seeds germinating are things that encourage me to keep going.
What’s your favourite gardening style?
Images courtesy of ©thechattygardener.com
I love crisp formality overlaid with frothy planting but rarely achieve it in my own garden. A reluctance to be harsh with self-sown plants means my borders can be rather untamed in places, especially in the veg garden where calendula, borage and rocket grow everywhere.
What are you most proud of?
Images courtesy of ©thechattygardener.com
Managing to grow lupins from seed and, more importantly, getting them to flower without the attention of slugs and snails makes me stupidly pleased. I love being able to cut flowers for the house – dahlias and sweet peas are amongst my favourites. I’m also proud that I managed to limit my tomato growing this year to just 52 plants!
What are your future plans?
Image courtesy of ©thechattygardener.com
I garden on almost pure sand so this summer has been a challenge. I’m planning an overhaul of a couple of borders with more drought-tolerant planting. Visits to a couple of gardens for work have also got me thinking about adding more foliage plants, and using more perennials along with annuals in my cut flower beds.
What’s your top gardening tip for beginners?
Images courtesy of ©thechattygardener.com
My top tip for beginner gardeners? Don’t be scared of failure. No one gets everything right every season, not even the most experienced gardeners. Accepting that things might not work out is part of gardening and there’s always next year.
Grow like Mandy
Image: Sweet Pea ‘Fragrantissima’ Seeds from T&M
If you’d like to grow the plants and flowers Mandy showcases on her Instagram page, here are some of her favourites:
Looking for ideas to transform your own outside space? Follow Mandy at @thechattygardener to take inspiration from her incredible photographs. For more behind-the-scenes scoops, see our full series of Featured Gardeners.
The Thompson & Morgan horticultural team produces a wealth of content around gardening and food production. Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.